State Senate Takes Aim at Plastic Bag Fee in New York City

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Two supporters of the 5-cent plastic bag fee, Councilman Brad Lander, a Democrat from Brooklyn, and Oliver Harwood, who wore a costume made of hundreds of plastic bags, in Brooklyn on Tuesday.CreditHiroko Masuike/The New York Times

They flutter in tree branches and sit balled up under kitchen sinks — plastic bags abound in New York City. To curb their ubiquity, the city last year tried to institute a small fee intended to encourage shoppers to bring their own, more environmentally friendly reusable bag to stores.

But on Tuesday, the Republican-controlled State Senate approved a bill that would kill the fee, amplifying a criticism that has dogged the plan and delayed its implementation by months: that it is not only financially burdensome for some, but also a broad government overreach meant to annoy shoppers into changing their ways.

“Many families have a hard time just getting by, paying for groceries, rent and heat,” Simcha Felder, a Democratic senator who represents parts of Brooklyn and who introduced the bill, said in a statement before the vote. He described the 5 cents that customers would have to pay for each bag as an effort by the city to “shake them down every time they shop just for the privilege of using a plastic bag.”

Speaking to reporters in Albany on Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie, a Democrat who represents the Bronx, would not directly address whether the bill would move on to the Assembly. Should both chambers approve it, it would have to be signed by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, to become law. A spokesman for Mr. Cuomo declined to discuss the governor’s position. “If the Legislature passes a bill, we will review it,” the spokesman, Frank Sobrino, said.

Raul A. Contreras, a spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio, defended the fee, versions of which exist in more than 200 municipalities in 18 states across the country. “This is the type of progressive and environmentally conscious action that helps create a more sustainable city,” Mr. Contreras said in an email. “We are going to continue to work with our partners in the City Council and Albany on implementation of this legislation.”

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Simcha Felder, left, a Democratic senator who represents parts of Brooklyn, introduced a bill in the State Senate that would eliminate a bag fee in large cities.CreditHans Pennink/Associated Press

The fee had been narrowly approved by the City Council in 2016, after a protracted and heated battle. It was supposed to take effect last year, but after Mr. Felder and others mounted a legislative challenge in Albany, a compromise was reached, which included plans to amend some of the language. It is scheduled to start on Feb. 15. But a representative for Mr. Felder’s office said he reintroduced his bill in the current legislative session because changes had not yet been made in the wording of the fee law.

On Long Island, both Suffolk County and Long Beach, a small city in neighboring Nassau County, recently enacted similar measures to charge for bags. The proposal by Mr. Felder would apply only to cities with over 1 million people.

Days before the Senate vote, opponents of the fee organized a rally on the steps of City Hall in Lower Manhattan. Supporters of the fee gathered nearby. They included a man dressed in a suit made of hundreds of plastic bags, as well as Councilman Brad Lander, a Democrat from Brooklyn who fought for the charge. The fee would apply to both plastic and paper bags with some exemptions, like takeout delivery bags. The proceeds would go to the retailer, not the city.

“How the Assembly Democrats would go along with Republicans to overturn a democratically adopted law to reduce plastic waste, that has worked all around the country and all around the world, I don’t know,” Mr. Lander said in an interview after the rally, noting that similar programs had been effective at reducing bag use. “I understand that people don’t want to pay the fee. But a much easier way to avoid the fee than pre-empting our law is just to bring a reusable bag. It’s just not that hard.”

Indeed, city officials said they already provide reusable bags to people of limited means.

Every year New York City residents throw away 10 billion bags, according to the New York League of Conservation Voters. “Single-use plastic bags are derived from petroleum, and their production, transportation and disposal all contribute to climate change,” Jordan Levine, a spokesman for the league, said. “Yet a countless number of additional bags never make it to landfills and end up in our streets, trees, beaches, lakes and rivers, where they take millions of years to biodegrade and harm wildlife.”

In a statement, the American Progressive Bag Alliance, a consortium of plastic bag manufacturers that opposed the Council bill, said the fee was unfair and of minimal value to the environment. It would “disproportionately impact those who can least afford it — without providing any meaningful benefit to the environment or New Yorkers,” the statement said.

Jennie Romer, a lawyer and an environmental consultant who is the founder of Plastic Bag Laws, a resource for information on the laws, said the move in Albany to stop the fee was disheartening. “It seemed to be a very simple incremental policy to make real environmental change,” she said, “and it has turned out to be an incredibly difficult fight.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A21 of the New York edition with the headline: Albany Takes Aim at Plastic Bag Fee in New York City. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe